With time running out on the Kyoto Protocol, nations are meeting at Doha to discuss the possibility of a new climate deal or at least extending the time commitments on the aging treaty. The Kyoto Protocol mandates binding cuts in carbon emissions for those nations party to the treaty. While the United States never signed the Kyoto Protocol, international climate laws have become increasingly geared towards curbing carbon emissions. Just two years ago, another
UN conference agreed to limit temperature rises to near pre-industrial levels. However, this has proven difficult to accomplish, not the least because several developed nations, including Japan, Russia, and Canada, are pulling out of the treaty or else can use hot air permits to increase their emissions.